DaoChild

I was wondering what that was! Funny, that's what first brought me to Taoism. I always explained to people that when you are in accordance with the way the world is going (Tao), you have TONS of synchronicities every day - so many that I no longer believe in coincidence. That makes a lot of sense, thank you.

Both I believe that by nature, we have this child-like inquisitiveness. As we age, we become more critical in, and less interested by, the world we've been raised in. We become less aware, and we find ourselves more in our thoughts as well as in our heads intellectually. Refinement means bringing us back to the original state of Tao - that childlike wonder, where everything is an adventure, filled with wonder and beauty! Children have been cited by every sage of the world as some of the greatest keepers of the mysteries. Why? I believe that when we are born, we are fully immersed in the Way, and as time goes on, society (Although benefiting us) also helps deviate us.. Children are one of the truest sources of the Way. (My opinion) Bottom line: I believe that refinement brings us back to the uncarved block. Our intellectualism helps us deviate into these finely sculpted minds, bodies. But through that, beyond that, we need the discipline to realize and acknowledge the simplicity of the world. We need to return back to understanding that even the most crooked tree in the forest has supreme importance and stunning beauty. Perfect William Blake lines to illustrate how Children are incredible Taoist Sages: To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour. If you ask me, Children are fascinated and will spend hours watching a single ant or butterfly. "To the Mind that is still - the whole universe surrenders" Have an awesome weekend.

I completely agree. I don't think you will *necessarily* always find the material / spiritual split. It only indicates that physical material wealth is what most people in the US an elsewhere are working towards. Many of us are not encouraged to find spiritual or religious fulfillment, and so we don't work towards that. So, I don't think it's a matter of "You can't be spiritual wealthy if you are materially wealthy". Rather, it means "You've worked hard for the material, now you are going to need to work harder for the spiritual." On a lovely rainy saturday, Daochild

Personally I absolute love learning. I think it's absolutely incredible learning about the world and society. Even though it can sometimes complicate life a lot more than it should be, the more I learn the more spiritual I become. It's almost like "One part of me drifts one way.. realizes something.. and the other (spiritual) part can drift the other way". It's difficult to explain - but with so much intellectualism around me I can also join in that side of the world, but also realize why I shun away from it. I crave simplicity, basics, fundamentals, lay-speech and so on. The more I learn the more I REALIZE why I love Taoism. But that's just me I'll be graduating with my BS in a few months, and from there I hope to have 6 + more years of higher education. I always was (am) inquisitive about the spiritual and physical nature of the world. But more than that, I was always attracted to LEARNING first hand about it. That's how I became an amateur naturalist as a hobby - learning the voices of the birds, the plants and their medicinal uses. And that's how at a very young age I was deeply and extensively exploring spirituality.. It always just made sense to me

Often times the root of fear is misunderstanding. Fear many times leads to anger and outward aggression.

Thanks Bruce, I'm going to go for it and see what happens. Actually, I'm going for an O.M.D. (Doctor of Oriental Medicine). While ordinarily you'd think you would be able to support yourself after 6 years post-undergrad education, it isn't as accepted in western medicine yet. Hopefully my life will be dedicated to the cause of bringing credibility to therapies and healing methods outside of Allopathic medicine.

Absolutely. You totally can be wealthy and spiritual - it's a matter of doing this balancing act. My grandmother is extremely religious and spiritual - and her husband is a multi multi millionaire who pays for all my expenses. My mom and dad live in the one of the top 3 riches counties in the United States - but my mom still is incredibly happy and holds deep spiritual views. The only problem is that it's another distraction if you have A) Too much of it or B ) Focus too much on it. This is the struggle I'm dealing with now , in fact. I have the choice when I graduate in 6 months to go into something that makes all the money I want ( and then try to find happiness ).. or find a job that makes me EXCITED to get up in the morning, and possibly have financial troubles. I'm choosing the happiness route - and believe me, it's not easy for a 21 year old. It sucks that I have to make such a major decision right now - but I can, without hesitation, tell you what I WANT to be doing.

Exactly! ABUNDANCE is measured in more than just monetary wealth. Hyok, the problem with monetary wealth is simple (in theory): it increases our attachment and dependence on physical objects. Everyone, even laymen, know that everything physical comes into our lives and leaves our lives easily. My opinion as to why your friends are getting more attached: They see their physical health declining. Now they have aches and pains in the morning, they notice their skin getting saggier. They grow increasingly unhappy and fearful of death which seems "imminent". So, they do what anyone without a spiritual / religious view of the world does: they panic, and try to find an outlet that will save them. "Dancing in their money" is an "end-life" crisis, if you have no other idea what to do now that everything around you is crumbling. From the Tao Te Ching: Ch.9 Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner. Ch. 44 Fame or integrity: which is more important? Money or happiness: which is more valuable? Success of failure: which is more destructive? If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never truly be fulfilled. If your happiness depends on money, you will never be happy with yourself. Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. Good luck, my friend.

If it no longer feels right for you, then don't do it. Don't do it if it doesn't make your heart sing, make you want to jump with joy, make you enjoy every moment of life. Maybe religion is for you, maybe it isn't. WE Never will know -- only you. I thoroughly believe that not everyone needs religion or spirituality - some of us are just called to it and can't ignore it.

There IS variation in regard to the global temperature. Historically, there have been 5 major extinctions -- the reason why everyone is all up-in-arms now is because this one (the current 6th) is dramatically (dramatically) larger than the other 5 extinctions.

Not quite sure you got the idea that global warming just "stopped" in 1990.

I absolutely agree with your comment on resonating with what you are practicing or learning.

No, a teacher is most certainly NOT needed. I have had some of the most transcendent and incredibly experiences of my life and have never had a teacher. I would LIKE one, and having a teacher makes a lot of things easier. They can dispel fears ,they can confirm experiences, the can always pay attention to your faults and those areas of your life where you are unaware. It's important if you ask me - and if you can, get one. But It's most certainly not necessary. If you want a teacher, go into the forest and ask for help. But I'm also not talking about Taiji or any of that - I'm talking about experiencing Dao. If you are actually trying to learn exercises, (aside from basic ones you can find in books / on the internet), that is a very good reason to find a teacher. Neijia (the internal arts, including Taiji, Bagua, Xingyi ) and martial arts in general, cannot be learned by yourself. That is very different. Anything that requires form and structure you will mess up trying to teach youreslf. People ask all the time if you can teach yourself martial arts - you cannot, effectively. You will be missing footwork information, posture, focus, awareness. The teacher can point out all these things in person, but they cannot if you are just watching a video.

We all know this well-known passage from the Tao Te Ching. But, what I'm here to ask is if that's always the case in nature? Sure, the example always given is water. It yields and it is soft but over many lifetimes it can erode away mountains. But in the world of animals, often times the bigger, stronger male gets the mate. In fact, that's almost always the case. In a forest, if trees yield to the other ones - they've lost part of the arms race. They are now forced to be an understory tree, with reduce sunlight, and therefore reduced growth. Yep yep I know the flexible tree won't be broken by the hurricane. I understand the practice and agree with it, and in some parts of my life can put it into practice. But i'm not quite sure if that's the underlying scheme of nature. I realize that we are soft, flexible, and warm while alive, and the opposite is true when we expire. Still, I'm having trouble really grasping how this applies as the 'general scheme' of nature. Any ideas?

What do you believe "Chi" is? Is it this mystical energy we can shoot out of our hands? Or is it just a term that has been misused and mis-interpreted over time. It may mean breath, general wellness, health, power. Just curious.

Interested to hear what others think. I have a likely idea of some of the responses I will receive, given that this is forum religiously and spiritually oriented, but here it goes. If you could do it all over again - would you choose some balance between money and happiness? Do 100% what you love but earn 40% of the income? Do something you barely like but earn 200% the income? I ask because I'm at the stage in my life where I have a choice. I'm about to graduate undergrad with a BS in a science degree and can go into anything really, thinking mainly of : M.D., Doctor of Oriental Medicine, PA School, Nutrition, etc. It seems like a silly question, but In my honest opinion I don't know if I can become an OMD (Doctor of Oriental Medicine) while still be able to support a family. I'm only 21 but definitely am looking forward to be a family man. I don't think as an MD I would have time to workout , do martial arts, and spend time with my family every single day. Not sure if those are things I want to sacrifice. The income ranges far : I've heard Doctors of Oriental Medicine barely can make it through, because there isn't a huge demand and you have to have GREAT marketing skills to put yourself out there. I hear $30,000 a year is common. Obviously at the other end of the spectrum is an MD, where off the bat as a general practitioner, the average income is $150,000 off the bat. A PA makes something in between, starting at roughly $80,000. Money talk sucks What do you think? What did you choose? What would you choose? Thank you

Practice self-awareness, there is no number of passages that can help you. When you NOTICE yourself becoming a sore loser, ask WHY. And then fix it from there. Understand that is probably arises from people competitive in everything, and we can't possibly win everything. There will always be people better and worse.

Nope, frequent ejaculation won't make you bald. GENETICS will.

I agree - and that's why i think Bagua practitioners were so famous as good fighters. So unpredictable.

I recall reading articles that belly breathing (associated with Taiji, etc.) increases lymph node function. Can anyone direct me to this? Thank you

I agree with you wayfarer. I've avoided fights my whole life, but part of me really wants to get into fights. I always want to test my martial arts, but more than that, I'm someone who (for good or bad) really is into justice -- people getting what they deserve. Unfortunately, even when it's not my job or call. Bars are infamous for people picking fights, and I've had a few people pick fights with me. usually they are pretty drunk so as soon as you chuckle they lose interest quickly, but it's funny how quickly a fight can start (over nothing). And usually if you are soft, you can let the fight pass over. But not always.

Also: just an important point to make Ultimate you cannot affect everything that makes up your child in the world. You simply can't. My mom never bought sweets or soda (ever), but my brother who is 19 (i'm 21) drinks and eats garbage food all the time. I haven't had soda since 14, I cook all my own meals, eat organic, have extremely low body fat, am very active, in the gym most days of the week etc. My brother is the total opposite -- very much a couch potato. You can control some things, but sometimes no matter how much you do (or don't) discipline your kids - you can't control how they come out. My neighbor was raised in the same community as I am - very affluent, loving parents that would do anything for him, fun neighbors. But now (at 20 years old) he's one of the biggest drug dealers in town. That was affected by his friendships -- he never could make friends, and did whatever it took to make them. Even if doing drugs made him popular. Soooo parents, don't ever feel like everything was or wasn't your fault. But always try to raise your children with a health dose of reality, respect, and discipline at least those are my 2 cents.

Sorry - I guess it didn't make it clear What i was referring to is that we are subject (just like animals -- we ARE animals) to the laws of nature. Animals seem to find a way to do this harmoniously, no qualms, just doing. They instinctively know what's best, that's the reason I added that to it. xuesheng, thanks for clarifying that. I actually knew very little about Taiji until recently - and I read something exactly like what you just said. That makes a LOT more sense than how I was thinking of it, thanks for making sense of it.

What does being 'empty' mean? What does it mean to practice 'emptiness' ? Interested to see what others think, have a lovely saturday night

Ch. 36 "The soft overcomes the hard. The slow overcomes the fast. Let your workings remain a mystery. Just show people the result." Different translations i suppose. In my other translation it says "the soft and weak conquer the strong."